Cloudreach online at Gartner

The middle of November saw the Gartner Symposium ITxpo 2013 take centre stage in Barcelona. Cloudreach took along a few tricks of our own, and some neat themes to entertain guests on our stand.  If you’ve never made it to Gartner before, you need to make sure you’re at the next one. But, enough of that – something big is happening in the digital world, and we’d like to share it with you.

The internet of things (IoT) is a concept with its roots in the late ‘90s, at a time when the true extent of 21st Century digitalisation could barely have been dreamt up. There’s no doubting that the advances in thinking and technology over the past 10 years or so have been spectacular, unprecedented, even unthinkable in 1999 perhaps.

But even back then a need was emerging for a new type of world, where digital creation would lead the world’s biggest systems; economies, health, business. And out of this need came the ‘internet of things’.

At Gartner, this concept was realised as an everyday phenomenon that is transforming the way we live; unique internet structure-like systems to automate processes which until now have been subject to human-to-human, or human-to-computer interaction. Just about every device you can think of can benefit from communicating with other devices or ‘back to base’ whether its a gas-meter, a streetlight, a car engine, a vending machine or a freezer in your local supermarket!

It is widely acknowledged that the growth of the world’s top businesses will rely on being more connected, more able to control their assets, and more able to track their progress and automate systems.  The work Cloudreach has been doing for its customers is very much in the vein of this concept - all these devices generate huge volumes of data; data which has to be structured, stored, sorted, visualised and analysed.   Cloudreach uses the power of cloud-based technologies to provide the capability needed to deal with the volume, velocity and variety of this data.

By assisting our clients with the installation and management of a vast array of tools to help them track, analyse, automate and generate data from their business systems Cloudreach is enabling them to “know what they don’t know” and then address it.

At Gartner, Cloudreach was in the company of some of the world’s leading CIOs - Leaders of world business, whose job it is to forecast the development of future business, and to lead the global change due to emerging digital trends.  We found it reassuring therefore, that we’re already embracing these trends, and exploiting them for our customers.

Don’t wait for the next Gartner expo to discover a direction for your business. Speak to Cloudreach today.     

Cloudreach to help showcase the future of business at Gartner 2013

Mobile, social, cloud and information technology are at the centre of the Cloudreach proposition. They are also at the centre of a spectacular event in Barcelona this week which looks set to showcase the future of global business collaboration.

 

This is your invitation to join Cloudreach on stand A7 at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo 2013 from 10th – 14th November in Barcelona. Join 4,000 of your professional peers, including 1,500 CIOs as Cloudreach stands alongside some of the world’s leading names in IT and business technology.

 

For Cloudreach, Gartner is an opportunity to offer the industry an insight into the accessibility of technology and systems that have forged global market leaders. And we’ll be offering this insight in style, with a series of themed networking receptions throughout the expo.

 

Here’s what guests on the Cloudreach stand can look forward to:

 

Night 1 (Monday 11th) – Star Wars themed reception

 

Stars Wars themes may have been done to death, but they’ve never been done like this! We’ll have a Death Star piñata for delegates to get stuck into, as well as our expert cloud business consultants on hand to offer useful meteors of business advice.

 

Night 2 (Tuesday 12th) – Weird Science themed reception

 

Don’t be put off by the lab coats – it’s all part of the fun you’ll have when you work with Cloudreach. Our cloud consultants will be mixing up weird and wonderful cocktails while they demonstrate that doing business should be fun, as well as successful.

 

Night 3 (Wednesday 13th) – Superheroes theme

 

Everyone’s favourite theme, we’ll be challenging our guests to a superhero duel – Nintendo WII style. Cloudreach customers don’t do losing out to the competition, and nor will you with the large chocolate medals we’ve got ready for our superhero winners!

 

If you’re planning a visit to Barcelona for Gartner 2013 you’ll have a unique opportunity to sample a vision for the future of global business with the explosive expo line-up.

 

Make the most of your visit and get along to stand A7. A visit to the Cloudreach stand will ensure you leave the show confident of your own business’ place in the future of the IT revolution.

 

And don’t forget - you’ll receive a Cloudreach kite when you visit us on Stand A7!

Did you see us in the Telegraph?

Article published 20th October 2013

‘Analysts predict that by 2015, 90 per cent of large enterprises will have moved to the cloud – savvy enterprises will take advantage of the agility and cost reductions the cloud can offer. And it’s more than cost savings…

Innovation - fail fast

After years of marketing promises of “utility computing’, true pay-as-you-go consumption of IT infrastructure is available. The ability for an organisation to have an idea, execute on that idea and ‘fail fast’ has never been greater. As barriers to investigating new initiatives come down, low-risk and low-cost innovation can thrive. 

Raising productivity

With competition fierce, organisations recognise employees as their number one asset. The cloud lets staff collaborate in real time with friendly, familiar, convenient applications.

Making it happen

The cloud requires a different mindset, and at Cloudreach we live and breathe cloud applications. Whether you are looking at collaboration, CRM, infrastructure, test and development, disaster recovery or big data analytics, the cloud changes everything - from forward-thinking consultancy to seamless data centre migrations and application development through to 24/7 managed services.

With key partnerships with Amazon Web Services, Google and Salesforce.com, we provide support for our customers at every step of their journey from helping you assess your suitability to supporting your cloud estate’.

Pontus Noren, Co-founder, Cloudreach

Sales Cloud

Cloud computing empowers businesses to increase their efficiency, make significant cost savings, and improve communication, at the same time as offering innovation previously available only to global market leaders.

Managing your sales and marketing functions through a cloud-based CRM system such as Salesforce is the difference between having a good business, and having a great business. With the right level of expertise, experience and knowledge, CRM will:

§  Drive innovation
§  Improve collaboration
§  Increase knowledge of your marketplace
§  Simplify communication channels
§  Enable you to focus on the future of your business

The key benefit of cloud computing is in the opportunity it provides to look at what a business already does well, and improve it considerably through more efficient systems and joined-up thinking.

The key benefit of a cloud-based CRM system is the ability to manage your sales and marketing activities, and internal teams in one central place. Accessible from anywhere by anyone, Salesforce offers a comprehensive suite of tools to enable you to tailor the system to your exact business needs.

With easy integration of systems your business already knows and uses, and scope for independent developers to build their own apps within Salesforce, the only limit to your success is having the knowledge and understanding to make the most of the opportunities. Fortunately, Cloudreach is here to do just that. We’ll lead you through the process in the most suitable way for your organisation.

The main asset of any business is its people. People with the ability to shape your success exist inside and outside your organisation. Doing something new to inspire, motivate and influence them is the key to a successful sales and marketing strategy.

Achieve all this through Sales Cloud by Salesforce and you’ll have a great business. But ultimately, we know you invest in your business to do one thing; to increase your bottom line. That’s why the consultancy services offered by Cloudreach focus on the real-time benefits of cloud computing, namely increasing:

§  Turnover of sales and productivity
§  Conversion of leads
§  Average deal size and win rate
§  Accuracy of forecasts and visibility of sales activity

Moving your sales function over to the Sales Cloud also allows you to capitalise on the mobile business revolution. In the past two years, use of mobile internet has increased by over 80%. Far from covering your bases, ensuring your sales team has the tools to perform effectively via their mobile device is an opportunity you can’t afford not to take.

Seasonal Elasticity

No, we’re not talking about adjusting your waistband to accommodate multiple Christmas dinners!  If you are in Retail or do business with Retailers we’re talking about scaling your online server and data use according to the demands of your business.

Most businesses already do this and almost certainly your IT Team have already provisioned sufficient capacity to more than deal with the highest peaks of load that can be expected over a peak period like the run up to Christmas.   Its important to get this right. Your customers will appreciate that your services are reliable, and you’ll appreciate the peace of mind that comes from knowing whatever happens – you’re covered.  But where has this extra capacity come from?  Has it been sitting idle for the rest of the year?

Traditional hosting or private cloud infrastructure can mean significant capital expenditure for capacity that is only required for a few weeks a year.  It’ll also take up a lot of your IT Team’s time, constantly working to ensure the server provision can handle the peaks in demand for your online systems.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) enables companies just like yours to consume infrastructure on a pay-as-you-go basis whilst ensuring the capacity is there when you need it. Your usage simply scales up and down according to your requirements and you don’t pay for what you don’t use. Not to mention the flexibility that AWS can give you in an emergency- if you need to throw vertical scaling, horizontal scaling or IOPS at a problem you can do just that while you troubleshoot your application.  And with Cloudreach’s experience behind you, you can weather the storm.

You wouldn’t pay your utility bills based on the months with the highest usage. So why do many other successful organisations like yours pay for their data resources in this way? Probably because you haven’t talked to Cloudreach yet to find out the best way of utilising AWS online data services.

Stop stockpiling your data resource for a rainy day, talk to Cloudreach and start saving money now.

Another boring cloud event?

There are a handful of events throughout the year that purport to be THE leading cloud event of the calendar and the ‘one event you should not miss this year’.    While these are bold claims and there is a sameness to them all, IP EXPO 2013 (Oct 16th/17th at Earls Court 2, London) seems to be an attractive proposition this year.

The usual scores of vendors are well-represented from the very biggest global brands to the emerging niche players but the highlights for me are the Amazon Web Services Lab and the Citrix Mobility & Cloud Zone.

Amazon Web Services continues to be a key strategic vendor for our clients.   The rate of innovation, value for money and commercial model provided by AWS makes it a strong candidate for a range of projects ranging from Enterprise applications to complete datacentre migrations.   The old favourite use-cases of Test & Development and Disaster Recovery are now ubiquitous and the more alluring projects are around Data Analytics and Visualisation.   AWS are providing more than a dozen sessions on a range of topics presented by AWS Technical Architects and other experts - all in their own lab environment.  Great opportunity to ask those “Could I do this on AWS?” questions that you have had in the back of your mind…

The Citrix Mobility & Cloud Zone should be popular.   Citrix continues to develop winning products and services that overcome limitations of legacy applications and make IT more mobile and flexible.   If you haven’t had a good look at Citrix recently this could be time well-spent…

Cloud computing has significantly disrupted some of the contented vendors that have dominated markets like IT infrastructure for the last 20 years.  As 2014 planning approaches, now is the time to address your cloud strategy – understand the advancements and innovations in the Cloud and perhaps cut through the hype of ‘big data’ and understand what you can actually do today to visualise and analyse data that may be available to you without costing the earth.  

See how our global client-base has benefited, visit Cloudreach Stand G44 and let us help you define your Cloud Strategy.

Register now for IP Expo - http://www.ipexpo.co.uk/

10GB of Google Drive storage free, sign in from Quickoffice app on Android or iOS before Thursday!

Sign in to your Google Account from the new Quickoffice app for Android or iOS by Thursday September 26, 2013, and an extra 10GB of Google Drive storage will be added to your account for two years (look for it in the next few weeks). So don’t let your hardware or software differences get in the way of true collaboration -- download the new app and start working together today. 

For more information: http://googledrive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/freeing-quickoffice-for-everyone.html